


Greatest Valentine's Ever

by keitaiijima



Category: Battle Royale - All Media Types, Battle Royale - Takami Koushun
Genre: Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-15
Updated: 2021-03-11
Packaged: 2021-03-17 16:48:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,134
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29474973
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/keitaiijima/pseuds/keitaiijima
Summary: The kids at Shiroiwa celebrate Valentine's Days.Chapter one: Shinji/Yutaka.Chapter two: Hiroshi/Yoshimi.Chapter three: Mitsuru/Izumi.
Relationships: Kanai Izumi/Numai Mitsuru, Kuronaga Hiroshi/Yahagi Yoshimi, Mimura Shinji/Seto Yutaka
Comments: 7
Kudos: 7





	1. Raisins

**Author's Note:**

  * For [PimpedOutGreenEars](https://archiveofourown.org/users/PimpedOutGreenEars/gifts).



> This was supposed to be a multi-chaptered fic following a lot of different pairings, but because I've been so delayed with it I might upload them all seperately (but they are coming). I've only written Shintaka once before really, so I hope it's okay.
> 
> This first chapter has Shinji Mimura not recieving any cards or chocolate for Valentine's Day, and Yutaka attempting to cheer him up.
> 
> It's pretty much just in honour of PimpedOutGreenEars anyway. I hope you like it! Happy Valentine's to my star. And to everyone else too!

For the group of boys consisting of Shinji Mimura and his friends, Valentine’s Day didn’t have the exact same meaning. _Some_ of them (read: Shinji) typically got a whole bunch of confession notes and sweet, homemade chocolates on this day. Shuya Nanahara would usually get a couple of creative confessions, through either poems, songs, or sometimes even drawings. Last year, a girl in 1A had even presented Hiroki Sugimura with a box of confectionery, which he had awkwardly stared and not realized he should probably accept for way too long, ending with the girl running away in tears. They liked to remind him of this from time to time, as he still felt pretty bad.

This year however, started off… weird. The first thing Shinji did, was to check his locker for any potential love letters or treats. Yutaka had even brought him a little box to put under it the previous day, joking that the locker would fill up way too quick. But there were no notes in his locker. And no chocolates in the box.

Frowning, Shinji didn’t quite understand what was happening.  
“This is a mistake,” he noted to himself out loud.  
“It’s not even 9 AM yet,” Yutaka pointed out, laughing as he saw his friend’s expression. “Come on, dude. Give the girls a chance to wake up first!”  
  
Sure, that was a valid point, but it didn’t help his mood when Keita came running to them before class, waving a card in his hand.  
“Guuuuys!” he cried, excited. “Look at this! I got my first Valentine’s admirer. I knew it would happen. I’m not gonna die alone!”  
Yutaka gulped, noticing the sour expression on Shinji’s face as Keita’s pink, heart-covered card basically hit them in the face.  
“So happy for you, man,” Yutaka said, glancing at Shinji, who huffed.  
“Maybe they thought you were someone else,” he said vaguely, earning himself a small nudge from Yutaka.

Keita laughed at what he assumed was a joke, shaking his head.  
“No, it says: “Dear Keita, you’re the best boy – “,” he began, before being interrupted by Shinji’s groan about class starting.  
“Who gave it to you?” Yutaka asked in a whisper, actually interested in the girl who could show interest in Keita. She must be something pretty special.  
“I don’t know. I found it in my backpack,” Keita whispered back. “But someone with awesome taste, obviously!”  
“Obviously,” Yutaka agreed with a little grin. “I want to meet her.”  
“Dude, me too,” Keita joked, laughing. “It’d be good to know she’s real. Fingers crossed she’s not psycho.”  
Yutaka wasn’t sure what the odds were of that, but he crossed his fingers anyway.

* * *

At lunch break, there had still been no development in Shinji’s card situation. He had ran to check his locker every five minutes (though not literally, as he didn’t want anyone else who saw him to think he cared about this. He was obviously above the need for validation. Obviously).

It reminded Yutaka a little of how a kid might react waking up Christmas Day only to discover there were no presents under the tree. Shinji looked, to put it mildly, miserable.

“Shinji, you got three confessions last week!” Yutaka reminded him, in an attempt to make him feel a little better.  
“ _So_? On a normal Thursday?” Shinji scoffed. He folded his arms and glared to his right, not really focused on anything except his own disbelief and disappointment. “ _This_ is the day where girls are supposed to worship you. So where are they, huh? Where’s the fans?”  
After a moment of pause, Shinji sighed and uncrossed his arms, leaning closer to Yutaka from across the table.  
“Yutaka, tell me the truth,” he said seriously. “Did I gain weight?”

Yutaka hit his forehead against the table, mumbling something inaudible, which was a less than satisfying answer for Shinji. He turned to Shuya instead, eyes wide.  
“Is it my new hair gel?” he asked weakly.  
Shuya laughed, shaking his head.  
“You’re as hot as ever, man. I swear,” he said teasingly. “Maybe all your fans have just grouped together and are planning something extra special at the end of the day?”  
Even if everyone else recognized Shuya’s tone as playful, Shinji’s eyes lit up with hope.  
“Maybe… Maybe, this could be the greatest Valentine’s ever,” he agreed slowly. “Like a wet t-shirt contest for me only.”

“He’s a true romantic, isn’t it?” Yoshitoki laughed, as Shuya shook his head with a chuckle. Yutaka however looked up at Shinji, an almost thoughtful expression on his face. Before he could say whatever was on his mind, Keita joined them, looking even more delighted than earlier.

“You guys will _never_ guess what!” he exclaimed, looking at them with the clear expectation that they could at least try.  
“You… won some kind of eating contest?” Hiroki suggested. It was hard to know if it was a serious guess or the attempt of a joke, but it made the other boys snicker regardless. Other than Shinji, who was staring at Keita with a mix of contempt and, for the first time in his life, jealousy. Keita and his one Valentine’s card was really grinding on him.

“Nopeee,” Keita shook his head. “Good guess though!”  
It was obvious he wanted them to go on.  
“I don’t think we got any test back today, but maybe you got an A or something?” Yoshitoki suggested, taking a shot in the dark.  
“Come on, Nobu, that’s just unrealistic,” Keita hummed. “And I wouldn’t be _this_ excited about that!”  
“Did you see an UFO?” Yutaka asked, looking more perked up again now. “Wait, no, that can’t be it, it’s too cloudy today…”  
“ _That’s_ why it can’t be that?” Shinji remarked dryly, though with a small smile to his best friend, who just shrugged with a grin in return.

Keita opened his backpack and with a very proud expression, pulled out a small stack of letters and notes.  
“Eight in total so far! Eight Valentine’s cards! And there were even a couple of bags of chocolates hanging off my locker. I guess the girls are just too shy to give them to me personally?!” he beamed.

Instead of the other’s bursting with joy for him, they exchanged a couple of confused glances. It wasn’t that they found the fact that someone being interested in Keita to be totally unbelievable, but… eight girls? All out of no where? It was a little strange. The only one who didn’t really seem to question it, was Shuya.  
“Wow, good for you, man! I only got two so far!” he said, patting Keita’s back to celebrate his triumph.

  
Shinji looked close to death, so Yutaka spoke up too, his tone light and playful.  
“Hey, Keita, I’m only gonna ask once. And whatever you say, I’ll believe you! Did _you_ write those letters?” he half-joked.  
“I wish!” Keita replied, although this response didn’t make much sense. “No, you can take a look! The handwriting is all different. And like, way prettier than mine.”  
He showed them a couple of the letters, and sure enough, they seemed to very clearly be written by different people.  
“Did you pay someone to write these?” Yoshitoki asked, also with a humorous tone.  
“Should I be insulted at these questions?! Because I don’t even care! I’m the new stud of the group,” Keita laughed loudly, giving one of the letters a kiss.

“This is like goddamn Bizarro world!” Shinji snapped, getting up from the table in one quick movement.  
The others watched him storm off, not quite sure what to say.  
“What’s wrong with him?” Keita asked, blinking.  
“He didn’t get any card yet,” Yutaka sighed. “I’ll go try to talk to him.”

Yutaka had a couple of ideas forming on how to cheer Shinji up. He wasn’t sure any of them would actually work, but it could be worth a shot. He had originally gone back and forth on whether or not he should have come prepared with something for him anyway. Which was probably ridiculous. They were best friends, so how lame would it be to suddenly present him with a Valentine’s gift? There was no way he would be taken seriously.

But… Something about how down Shinji was now that he got _nothing_ , was a big motivator. After all, Yutaka considered it part of his job within their group to keep everyone smiling and laughing. Especially Shinji. So he made a stop by a vending machine, and tore off a piece of paper from his notebook and scribbled down a quick message, before he continued looking for Shinji.

He eventually found him sulking in their empty Maths classroom, where they would be having their next class.  
“Hey, man. No fangirls here either?” Yutaka joked, looking around the room as if he pretended to be searching for them. He even looked under a desk for good measure.  
“No. They’ve all dumped me. And for IIjima? This is like the first step of the Armageddon,” Shinji replied dramatically. Yutaka had to laugh, as he knew very well these dramatics weren’t intentionally over the top. It really was the end of the world for Shinji.

“Yeah, well, I got some good news. Kinda. Someone did get you chocolate and a card. Ish,” Yutaka said, feeling his heart beat a little faster at just saying this. But at least Shinji’s interest was now peaked.  
“They did? You went by my locker? Or did she give it to you and tell you to give it to me? Is it that girl in 2C with the big – “  
“- Nope. No to all of that,” Yutaka was quick to cut him off. Okay, maybe this wouldn’t go down as well as he hoped. He reached into his bag, pulling out the small piece of chocolate he had picked up and the note, which he had scribbled down _“Do you like raisings? How do you feel about a date?”_

Shinji stared at it for a minute, a small frown appearing on his face. But eventually he burst out laughing.  
“So you’re my not-so-secret Valentine this year?” he asked, looking up at Yutaka with an amused expression.  
Yutaka thought he might be blushing a little, but he shrugged.  
“I guess that depends how you feel about raisings,” he attempted to joke.  
Shinji hummed, putting the note in his pocket.  
“It’s cute, dude. Thanks for trying to cheer me up. But I guess a silly joke just can’t replace the real lust I’m used to feeling on by the crowd of chicks on days like this,” he sighed.

Yutaka wanted to tell him it didn’t _have_ to be a joke, that he had just worded it like that to make him smile, but he couldn’t bring himself to do so. Not when Shinji so quickly dismissed it. Before he had the chance to say anything at all, more of their classmates started pouring into the room, and he took his seat.

Okay, he had been dumb. At least they could consider it a joke and move on. That’s what Yutaka focused on as class went on. He also hoped Shinji wouldn’t turn the note around and see what was scribbled on the other side. But just in case…

“- Hey, Yutaka! We’re gonna try to guess who my secret admirers are! Want to help?”  
Class must have been over before Yutaka realized it, because suddenly Keita was standing next to his desk, looking as energetic as ever.  
“Yeah. Sure,” Yutaka said, honestly curious about this himself anyway. Shuya and Yoshitoki had joined them around Yutaka’s desk too, while Hiroki seemed to be attempting (and failing) consoling the still fuming Shinji a few rows ahead.

“We’re trying to decipher the messages,” Shuya said, as he had his note down one of the cards. “But a lot of them are so generic. Like _“Your smile warms my heart, your eyes warm my soul”_. What does that even mean?”  
“ _You are the most handsome boy in school. Please look my way,_ ” Keita read too, wiping away a tear. “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?!”  
Yoshitoki frowned.  
“Hey, guys,” he said, as he was studying one of the new cards. “What is this supposed to mean? “ _You dominate the court like you dominate my heart_ ”? What court?”  
  
Shinji perked up in front of them, finally turning around to look at the group now.  
“That’s weird,” Yutaka agreed. “Let me see one.”  
The first card he reached for read: _You might be The Third Man but you’re the first and only man for me.  
_Mouth falling open, he looked back up at Keita.  
“Keita! These are _Shinji’s cards_! Why do you have them?!” he exclaimed. Hearing this, Shinji jumped out of his seat, pushing the others to the side as he scooped a bunch of cards into his arms.  
“Mine?!” he half-yelled, looking frantically at the collection. Collecting himself, he cleared his throat. “I mean. Not that I care. But that just isn’t right, Iijima. Stealing from my locker?”

The death glare he sent Keita showed that maybe he did in fact care. However, Keita shook his head rapidly.  
“No way! I have no idea what happened! These were all in my locker, I swear it!”  
The boys glanced at each other. How could a mix-up like this happen?  
“Do you have your name and student number on your locker, Iijima?” Yoshitoki asked. Shinji was flipping through the cards, his smile widening at each compliment he read, now that he realized they were all for him.

“Name? No. Student number, yeah, I think so,” Keita said, unsure. Then he snapped his fingers, chuckling. “Oh, crap. _I know_ what it is.”  
Without saying anything else, he motioned for them to follow him into the hallway. Curious, Yutaka shrugged to the others, and they all followed. Shinji was a little slower as his nose was still stuck into the cards.

The destination turned out to be Keita’s locker. And once there, it became pretty obvious what had went from. As a new decoration, Keita had put up a huge photo of Shinji’s face, and written in marker “Third Man forever” with a little heart next to it.  
“I guess the younger girls saw this and just assumed it’s Shinji’s locker?” Keita asked with a sigh. “Man. It was too good to be true.”  
“Why… Why would you put _that_ on your locker?” Yoshitoki asked in disbelief, as Shuya struggled not to choke on his own laughter.  
“A better question is; who would ever believe Mimura would put his own photo up like that? It looks more like… What a girlfriend would do,” Hiroki pointed out, looking rather worried.  
Yutaka snickered. “Come on, Sugimura. Don’t you know Shinji at all?” he teased.

Shinji looked up at the locker, actually giving it an approving nod.  
“Best idea Iijima’s had. I might copy it,” he said, clearly having missed the rest of the conversation.  
“Okay. Forget what I just said,” Hiroki sighed.  
“Well, I’m sorry, Iijima. You still got that one card from the start of the day though?” Shuya reminded him, seeing Keita’s little pout at this development.  
  


Just then, Keita’s phone vibrated with a text. He looked at it, sighing deeply.  
“Aw, maaaan,” he complained.  
“What?” Yutaka asked, wondering how Keita’s day could possibly be getting worse.  
“It’s my mom. Asking if I liked the card she gave me today,” Keita said, slapping his face.  
Shinji’s smile got, if possible, even better.  
“All is right in the world,” he commented, as the others tried to hold back their laughter.

* * *

He wasn’t sure what he was doing there, but Yutaka found himself waiting in the auditorium at the end of the school day. Just in case Shinji saw the other message on the note. If he did… Well, they were best friends. They could just hang out. Although Yutaka assumed Shinji wasn’t short on options for dates now anyway, considering the amount of cards he had received.

Therefore, he was surprised to see the main doors open.  
Shinji entered, looking at the small, crumbled up note in his hand, and then at Yutaka, who was sitting on the main stage with his feet dangling over the edge.  
“Hey,” Shinji greeted, a little smirk on his lips. “ _Come to the auditorium after school for a wet t-shrit contest”?”_ he repeated the joking message Yutaka had written him.

Yutaka managed to grin.  
“Yeah. Not much of a contest. I’m the only contender.”  
“I guess you are,” Shinji agreed, as he came closer. “You’d probably win anyway. Might save the others the heartbreak.”  
Even if he was joking, it made Yutaka feel a little better.  
“Speaking of the others,” Yutaka cleared his throat. “You’re not gonna meet like… Any of those admirers today? It’s _Valentine’s._ ”  
“It is,” Shinji confirmed, hopping up onto the stage and sitting down next to Yutaka, their thighs almost touching.

“So… Why are you here?” Yutaka asked, almost not daring to look at him. Which was ridiculous. This was _Shinji._ So his best friend wanted to hang out? Nothing weird about that.  
Shinji looked at him, their eyes meeting for a moment. Then he gave him a smile way softer than he usually did.  
“I guess I realized I really like raisings,” he joked.

Yutaka’s own smile softened too.  
“And dates?” he asked, a little nervous to hear the answer. But Shinji replied quickly, without hesitation.  
“Even better.”  
  
They sat in silence for a little while, which he didn’t mind. It felt nice. Unlike Shinji, Yutaka had never really had any date for Valentine’s. But he was sure nothing could beat a date with the Third Man anyway. He hoped that despite the lack of a wet t-shirt contest, Shinji would still consider this the greatest Valentine’s ever too. Because he sure did.


	2. Filler Valentine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yoshimi intends to make her ex-boyfriend jealous on Valentine's Day, but things don't turn out the way she planned. It still turns out okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think this will end up being three chapters. Better late than never!

“Yoshi, why the fuck did you bring chocolates? I thought you broke up,” Hirono groaned, more than done with her friend’s inability to ever let her relationship with Yoji Kuramoto fully go. Yoshimi had placed a pink box with store-bought chocolates on their cafeteria table, staring down at them with a big pout. It was true, she had originally bought them to give to her ex-boyfriend, hoping maybe they could reconcile and try again. For the seventh time.

But after seeing Yoji receive chocolates from a girl Yoshimi knew for _a fact_ he had liked a ton of photos of on social media, and then, he put his arm around her right there in the school’s hallway, she decided this was it. It was _really_ over. Which yes, was now the eight time she declared, but this time she _meant it._ She had watched him with trembling eyes, holding onto her own box of chocolates so tightly it became slightly dented.

“I told you no man deserves this,” Mitsuko sighed, her tone sympathetic, but without looking up from painting her nails. “Or should I say no _boy_. Because that is what he is. And definitely not worth your time.”  
Hirono nodded intently, slamming a hand onto the table.  
“Hell yeah. You have got to stop letting guys treat you like shit. You’re cute enough to be the one who’s the bitch in the relationship, Yoshi,” she encouraged her. Even though it was an unorthodox compliment, it made Yoshimi laugh slightly.

“I knooow,” she agreed with a long sigh, glancing over at Yoji sitting with his friends. They were all munching on some chocolate, although she was surprised to see all of them getting some. Maybe it was the obligatory chocolate Yukie Utsumi always handed out. “I just really loved him…”  
She kept looking at him for one last, meaningful moment, before huffing as she turned back to her friends.  
“Well, screw him! I am so over it!” she insisted, picking up the box and looking like she was about to throw it across the room, before stopping to change her mind.

“Guess it’s still a shame to waste good chocolate,” she mumbled, staring at the box in her hands. Well, mediocre chocolate. She hadn’t spent all her money on him. They were broken up, after all. Now, maybe she could just eat this at home in bed while watching some unrealistic, sappy romance movie, where things always turned out so perfect for the heroine in the end. Not like sucky real life.   
“You should give it to some other guy in front of Kuramoto to let him know how done you are with him,” Mitsuko pointed out lazily, as she blew onto her fresh nails.

Yoshimi blinked. She hadn’t considered this, but maybe it wasn’t such a bad idea? She knew Yoji was going with some of his jock friends to hang around the football field behind the gym while Kazushi had his practice. She _could_ just happen to show up there too, giving the chocolate to the first guy she saw. Maybe even someone cute on the football team.  
Oh, but she kind of wanted the snacks for herself though. But the local kiosk next to her apartment building never noticed when she slipped a chocolate bar or two into her coat, so maybe she didn’t have to choose between the two alternatives.

“I think I will,” she agreed, slipping the box into her bag. “I know where he’s gonna hang out later. I’ll do it then.”  
“That’s our girl,” Hirono grinned. “Just no one ugly or annoying who will get fucking clingy on you after, okay? I can’t deal with that.”  
Yoshimi hummed. “It might be like, totally hard for them not to fall in love with me. Look at me,” she joked, tossing her hair over her shoulder. More seriously, she added. “Don’t worryyy. I’ll find the perfect filler Valentine!”

* * *

Hirono had offered to go with Yoshimi, saying she would love to see the expression on Yoji’s face when he saw her moving on. However, Yoshimi was a bit worried that he wouldn’t even bat an eyelid and that it would turn out as an embarrassing thing for her more than a “Hah! Got you!” kind of thing. The last thing she wanted for Valentine’s Day was to be embarrassed in front of her friends. Potentially embarrassing herself in front of _his_ friends and the football team was bad enough.

Approaching the field, she could tell the practice match had already started. There were some substitute players waiting off on the side, and she thought maybe she could go speak to one of them. First she needed to locate Yoji. It didn’t take too long to see him hanging out with Hatagami and Oki on the benches on the other side of the field. Ugh, he looked so happy and relaxed. She hated it.

Glaring at him, she started taking determined steps in his direction, knowing she would have to get his attention before she did anything else. Or else the whole point was kind of gone. Before she could get very far though, someone else called out to her.  
“Yo, Yahagi?”  
She vaguely recognized the voice, but not well enough to identify the person without turning her head to her left, glancing at the direction of it.

Hiroshi Kuronaga was sitting on one of the benches directly by the wall of the gym hall, crouching down on the seat while having a smoke. He looked at her curiously; or more so, the pink box she had already taken back out of her bag and was now holding close to her chest. “Is that chocolate or somethin’?”

Yoshimi nodded, giving him a small smile. Even though the Kiriyama Family could feel a little intimidating sometimes, their smallest member didn’t really have that effect on her. She knew he was harmless enough; especially on his own, like now.  
“Yeah. I mean, it’s Valentine’s, soo…” she said, dragging out the words.  
Hiroshi huffed, glancing away. Yoshimi assumed he hadn’t really received any chocolate (other than the previously mentioned obligatory Yukie one).

Still, it felt like the right time to make conversation.  
“Did you get anything or what?” she asked bluntly, walking a little closer to him.   
“Nah,” Hiroshi said with a shrug. “Nothin’ that really counted. We’ve all been busy tryin’ to figure out the mystery of Mitsuru’s chocolate anyway.”  
Yoshimi had to admit it did make sense of Numai received some from an actual admirer. But she didn’t really care about that either way.  
“That totally sucks,” she said sympathetically. She wondered if she should just hand Hiroshi the box right then and there out of pity, but Yoji was still way too far away to have noticed the two of them talking. Maybe she could get Hiroshi to have a walk with her though, bringing them closer to him…

“Who are ya givin’ yers too? Kuramoto?” Hiroshi asked, surprising Yoshimi a little with his knowledge of her dating life. Although the two of them had never been too subtle, making out in the classroom and being quite touchy feely. It would probably have been more of a feat _not_ to notice.   
“No. No, that’s like, totally over,” she dismissed quickly. “No, I don’t… I don’t know…”  
Before she had to think too hard about it, a shrill voice broke into the conversation.

“Just the fucker we’re looking for!” a guy laughed, strolling up alongside two others. They all looked around the same age as Yoshimi and Hiroshi, but she had never seemed them before. Maybe they went to another school? Their dyed hair and bruised faces made one thing clear; they were delinquents.   
“It’s the midget from that gay lil group who think they run shit ‘round here!” another one commented, laughing even louder. “The one with the lighter!”

Yoshimi didn’t know what _the one with the lighter_ referred to, but she could assume. Hiroshi definitely seemed to know them, because he visibly tensed up as they talked.   
“Whatcha want?” he asked, trying to keep his voice steady but clearly feeling unsure about the situation. Without his friends around, Hiroshi was never one to deal with trouble on his own. Everyone knew this, even Yoshimi.   
  


“What _I want_ is the fuckin’ burnt off bits of my hair back, but ya ain’t no damn magician, are ya?” The tallest of the boys snapped with a huff. “Second best is gonna be punchin’ the shit outta ya.”  
Yoshimi winced, keeping her mouth shut as she wondered if she could just turn around and leave. They probably wouldn’t hassle her about it, but she did feel a little bad leaving Hiroshi alone with this group. As of now, her presence had been fully ignored though.

Hiroshi got to his feet now, looking like he felt a slight sense of urgency. His eyes kept darting around, as if he hoped he could spot his friends any moment. But they were no where to be seen.   
“What? You’re nothin’ but a pussy without your friends ‘round, huh?!” one of the other guys cried out, in an obvious attempt to provoke him.   
Hiroshi squinted, but still said nothing. Was this an odd attempt at buying time? Yoshimi wasn’t sure.

However, she thought maybe she should speak up.  
“Heeeey,” she said, clearing her throat. “Maybe we can like, work this out or something? There’s like weaves you can get for your hair.”  
The boys, including Hiroshi, stared at her like she was crazy. They probably didn’t know what a weave was, she thought, but before she could explain, something happened.

The football was kicked off the field and towards their group, shooting in between them and the other three boys. It wasn’t much of a distraction, but it was enough. None of them had expected the object to fly their way, so everyone automatically turned their heads to the direction it came from. Except Hiroshi, who saw his opportunity.  
“Yahagi! Run, man!” he yelled out, turning on his heels and dashing off in the opposite direction of where the boys had come from. Yoshimi only took one second to decide if she should follow him or not, before she herself started running too.

It didn’t really make sense to her, because obviously the group had no issue with her, and would have most definitely left her alone. But he had called out her name, so she had followed. _Him running away like a coward, me following just because I was told too… Ugh, we totally are the losers of our groups, aren’t we?!_  
These were the thoughts running through her head as she tried to keep up with Hiroshi and his small frame. He was a lot quicker than she had expected, so she suspected running away was his special move within the group.

For a long time she could hear the others puffing behind them, but after cutting it close while crossing the street near an intersection on the roads leading out to Takamatsu, which were sometimes busy with people commuting back from work in the city around these times, they finally seemed to have shaken them off.

Hiroshi slowed down, seemingly in still surprisingly good shape, while Yoshimi clutched her chest, the pink chocolate box swinging in her other hand. Oh, the pieces would probably be all broken up and scrambled now.  
Taking some short breaths, she felt her heart rate slowly starting to slow back down. She didn’t even smoke that much, but her cardio clearly wasn’t the best.  
“Who… Who were those guys?” she asked Hiroshi, as she looked around for a place to sit down.

“Some dicks from Ayagawa, I think,” Hiroshi responded, still glancing around as if he wasn’t quite sure they were gone yet. “They kept tryin’ to say we couldn’t chill at the park there, but it’s like, _almost_ in our town. ‘N b’sides, we can chill wherever the hell we want!” he insisted.  
“Yeah, that’s lame,” Yoshimi replied automatically, figuring agreeing with him would be the best thing to do, despite not knowing about the situation. “They don’t like, own the park, sooo.”

Hiroshi nodded enthusiastically, as the two walked aimlessly in search of somewhere to sit so Yoshimi could catch her breath properly.  
“Right?! I didn’t see their name ‘nywhere… Except on one bench with graffiti, but ‘nyone can do that!” he said, rolling his eyes.  
Yoshimi finally spotted a nice place to sit; a white two-seat bench under what looked like a cherry blossom tree. When spring it, she thought it might make for quite a beautiful spot. It was odd how Shiroiwa kept surprising her with little pearls like this.

She slumped down onto it, sighing deeply.   
“Aaaaah. I have to start exercising!” she exclaimed, which was something she told herself every now and then when motivation hit. It never really turned into anything. “Especially now when I’m looking for a new man and stuff.”  
Hiroshi glanced at her with an almost curious expression.  
“What happened with Kuramoto?” he asked, turning his eyes back straight forwards. “Why ain’t that a thing? Ya sorta started talkin’ ‘bout it before.”  
  


She supposed she had. Still, it wasn’t a very interesting story. She told Hiroshi about the fight they had had about Yoji following random women on social media and liking their “thirst trap pictures,” which he had looked very clueless about what was. And then how it had turned out she was right about those girls anyway, because he had already moved on with one.  
“So I need to move on too. Like, he can’t win the breakup. That’s totally embarrassing for me! I’m the cute one!” Yoshimi finished, groaning. Hiroshi laughed at this.  
“Yeah, he ain’t too pretty, is he,” he agreed gladly. He nodded to the dented pink box in Yoshimi’s hands. “Who were ya plannin’ on givin’ that to anyway?”

Yoshimi looked at the box as if she just remembered she still had it. She opened it carefully, revealing as she had expected, a lot of busted pieces of chocolates. Sighing, she closed it again immediately.   
“I didn’t even have someone in mind! I just wanted to give it away in front of him to rub his stupid face in it!” she pouted.   
Hiroshi looked at his phone, checking the time.  
“They might still be there, if yaw anna head back?” he suggested. But Yoshimi shook her head at this.   
“And risk running into those freaks again?” she asked, shuddering at the thought of the boys chasing them. “No thanks.”

Besides, as her mind was beginning to clear a little, she realized just how pointless the whole thing was. Her previous fears about embarrassing herself with the whole idea had came back at full force. If Yoji was over it, then she should at least pretend to be too. And act like he didn’t even exist or something. And… And maybe give the chocolate to someone she thought deserved it, rather than just to whoever was in front of Yoji at the time.

“Here,” Yoshimi told Hiroshi as she got to her feet, reaching the box out towards him with both hands and bowing her head a little as she saw girls do in romance dramas all the time. “Happy Valentine’s Day, Kuronaga! They’re a little fucked up but they should still be totally delicious.”  
Hiroshi looked at the box as if he couldn’t quite believe he was receiving this. Even if it was a mess. He reached his own hands out to grab it, his lips twisting into an uncertain smile.  
“F’real? But… Kuramoto ain’t even here to see it,” he pointed out, sounding unsure as to whether or not he could accept it.

Yoshimi scoffed.  
“So?! I don’t care anymore. He doesn’t need to see it. I just wanna give it to _you_ because… You’re nice to me, okay?! You didn’t have to tell me to run with you but you did anyway. Just because I was there, you included me… Yeah, maybe you included me into some weird dangerous shit where I could have ended up getting clocked by a guy but _still._ ”   
She knew she wasn’t making much sense, but she hoped he could understand her point. Even in a situation like this, it was nice to be seen by someone.

Hiroshi nodded, his eyes glued to the box as he opened it. He didn’t comment on the pieces being all broken, instead just shoving one into his mouth, his smile widening.  
“Fuck. These are good! Almost as good as my ma’s cookies,” he exclaimed. Yoshimi giggled, sure this was some sort of highest form of compliments.  
“Thanks, I bought them myself,” she joked, rolling her eyes.   
“’Tis the first Valentine’s I’ve ever gotten,” Hiroshi confessed quietly in between chewing. Somehow, it didn’t really surprise her.  
“Weeell, save some then, jeez,” she laughed. “And remember…”   
She put her hands behind her back, looking innocently up in the air before she continued. “I expect to be repaid double, _at least_ , on White Day.”

Hiroshi’s eyes widened at this, his chewing freezing in the middle of a bite.  
“Huh…?” he asked, some chocolate falling out of his mouth. Shit, that was something he hadn’t ever worried about before. He had to get a girl a White Day gift now?!  
“Yep,” Yoshimi confirmed as if reading his thoughts. She whistled a little as she began slowly walking away, obviously expecting him to follow her. “And I am nooot easy to please,” she teased.

Panicked, Hiroshi scrambled to his feet, catching up to her.  
“No, wait, I’m gonna need a hint! Yahagi! I dunno what to do!”  
Yoshimi was unable to hold back a laugh at his panicked tone, as she shrugged casually.  
“Figure It ouuuut,” she sung, enjoying torturing him a little.

This day hadn’t quite turned out how she expected, but it had turned out pretty good anyway. And now, even though she was single, she had White Day to look forward to.


	3. An Attempt Was Made

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Izumi wants to give Mitsuru some Valentine's chocolate, but she is too shy to do it herself. She gets an idea which naturally backfires.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I said I would finish it! And... just in time for White Day. Yay. Better late than never. :)

Izumi Kanai had never prepared a Valentine’s gift for someone before. Not even the traditional _Giri choco_ girls sometimes gave out of obligation to classmates and teammates. As she wasn’t part of any organized sport, she didn’t have any teammates, and Yukie usually took charge of making sure some cookies were brought in for everyone in their class that day anyway. These were always signed from all the girls in the class, leaving the responsibility out of Izumi’s hands. Which she preferred, when It came to these kinds of things. Last years, the girls in her friend group had all given chocolate gifts to each other for the first time, but she felt like that didn’t really count.  
This year was going to be different. This year, she would take a leap, and actually present someone with _Honmei choc_ o typically presented to a lover or a crush. She had originally slipped a note with a confession into the box of expensive confectionery but had ended up taking it back out after some deliberation. It felt just a little _too_ awkward. And what was she supposed to do, hide around the corner to spy on him and hope he looked happy when he saw the note? Maybe throw her a glance and a little nod to say yes? It felt very… primary school.

As of now, it wasn’t as if she was even brave enough to get the thing into his locker. Would it even fit? Would she have to break it open? Perhaps he would consider a break-in romantic, actually? If she had just bought some strawberry laces or something, they might just have slid into the small crack of the locker door. But no, she had gotten the fancy stuff. Would it seem like she was indirectly bragging about having money? Should she have just made something herself? Homemade would have been more romantic, surely, but Izumi had dismissed that idea as everything homemade she had attempted to make in the past had ended up being quite high on the toxicity scale. 

Izumi knew what she had to do. She needed to solicit the help of one of her friends to push her. The problem was, she had never really told any of them about her crush. She wasn’t embarrassed to have a crush on Mitsuru Numai, but she was afraid her friends’ well-meaning advice and help that was sure to follow such a confession, would cause more damage than good. Also, some, like Haruka, might give her a speech about how she was insane for liking a boy who was so “dangerous”. Others might start asking more... inappropriate questions or attempt to embarrass her in front of him at one point (Yuka would probably find that hilarious!). And considering Noriko’s best attempt at gaining her crushes attention was through vague love poems, whilst Chisato had gone as far as to dress up in a disguise to watch her crush’s basketball game, Izumi wasn’t sure if their help right now would be all that useful. 

However, there was one wild card. Who might not even really care one way or the other. And this wild card just so happened to share Mitsuru’s student number, and thus, have a locker right next to his. If she told Satomi about her idea, and her issue with not being sure how to give the chocolate to Mitsuru, she might have some kind of smart solution. So, in between their first two classes, Izumi whisked her to the side, claiming she wanted Satomi as her bathroom buddy.  
“Oh, I also need to toil-“ Chisato had started, but Izumi had already dragged Satomi’s arm down the hall and around the corner, half-running in her flats.  
“The toilets aren’t down here,” Satomi squinted her eyes in a suspicious manner. “What’s really going on?”

In a slightly dramatic manner, Izumi gave Satomi a quick overview of the current situation, her arms gesturing throughout the explanation as her eyes flickered left and right to make sure no one was within hearing range.  
“So I’ve kind of had this small, itty bitty, tiny, insignificant crush - if you can even call it a crush… Would you call it a crush? Maybe some would. For the sake of this story, let’s call it a crush – crush, on Numai-kun, for just a short while. Really. Like October. Last year. By last year I mean one year ago, not last year as in, before this new year. Are you following? And I got him this chocolate, since… It’s Valentine’s Day! You know that. But I’m too shy to go up and give it to him. I… I want to leave it by his locker, but I also don’t want anyone to see me leave it there, and I don’t even know how to leave it there, because it doesn’t fit! Satomi, help me! Your locker is next to his so you can somehow just, put the box there without it being suspicious! You’re stealthy, right? You can be… Stealthy,” Izumi took a break from rambling to see if Satomi looked like she was following her. _She didn’t_. It probably didn’t help that Izumi had told her all this without pausing to breathe a single time.

“Let me get this right,” Satomi said after some thought, resting her chin on her thumb, her index finger lightly tapping against it. “You want me to find a way to leave Numai chocolate from you by his locker, without anyone seeing it?”  
“Yes!” Izumi agreed, nodding eagerly.  
“So you don’t want him to know it’s from you?”  
“Well… I hope he does know. I mean, I hope he will think it’s from me…” Izumi said, blushing at the idea. In her fantasy, it would be obvious to Mitsuru that she was the one behind it. Because who else could it be? Wait, oh no, did she have competition?  
“If you like this guy and want him to know, wouldn’t it be better if you just give him the chocolate directly?” Satomi reasoned after hearing this response. 

Izumi was pleasantly surprised that Satomi didn’t seem to judge her for her crush as much as she had feared maybe she would, but she had also seen this logical reasoning coming. Yes, maybe that would have made more sense, but… If he was going to reject her or laugh at her gift, then she would much prefer that he did it without her having to witness it.   
“I’m too scared… “ Izumi admitted in a weak voice, glancing down at her feet. “I know that sounds ridiculous, but I am. I just don’t want to embarrass myself, I suppose…”  
Satomi had a deep sigh. Of course, seeing her friend so nervous and insecure, she would try in any way she could to help out.  
“Fine,” she replied, nodding shortly. “I will put it in a plastic bag and hang it off the handle of his locker. You do realize there is a chance someone else will see it first and steal it though? It’s not exactly high security in these halls.”

Izumi couldn’t help but chuckle a little at this concern. Sure, the chocolates were pretty fancy, but she was sure she could cover the loss if they did get stolen. If that were to happen then…  
“Then maybe it wasn’t meant to be,” she said with a small smile. “I think it’s worth a try. Thank you, Satomi, really!”  
Satomi smiled too, shaking her head as Izumi took her chocolate box out of her bag and handed them to her.   
“Anytime. Well, not really. I’d prefer not playing Cupid for you guys and your weird crushes,” she hummed. “Bu _t this_ time, I’m down.” 

As promised, Satomi did her best to discretely leave the chocolate box by Mitsuru’s locker that next break. She didn’t see anyone else around in the hallway, so she thought the coast was clear. Still wishing Izumi would have just gathered the courage to do this herself, she sighed as she hung the plastic bag with the box up by the doorhandle. Part of her couldn’t help but think that a boy like that probably didn’t deserve this kind of attention from someone like Izumi, but she knew it wasn’t her business. Ultimately, she would keep Izumi’s secret if that was what the girl wanted. For now, her involvement in this was done. 

What she didn’t know, was that someone _was_ just coming around the corner in time to see her place the bag and leave. Hiroshi Kuronaga had just entered school from a nearby entrance, having just taken a short break outside to burn some leaves. For no other reason than that it was fun. Now, he curiously made his way to Mitsuru’s locker, eager to find out what the class nerd had left there for him. When he snatched up the bag and recognized it as expensive chocolate, he almost immediately dropped it.   
_No fuckin’ way! That’s too hilarious!_  
Grinning wildly, he held a tight grip on the bag as he ran to find the rest of his friends.

* * *

  
“Ya… Ya can’t be serious,” Mitsuru exclaimed flabbergasted, as he stared down on the chocolate box Hiroshi had slammed down onto the cafeteria table where he and his friends had gathered for the short break. “ _Noda_?! Are ya sure?”  
Hiroshi, as well as Ryuhei, couldn’t stop snickering at the fact that such a huge nerd had given Mitsuru a romantic gift on Valentine’s day. Despite the fact that neither of them had received anything, they still thought this was hilarious and mock-worthy.   
“Yeah, man,” Hiroshi confirmed between his fits of chuckles. “I saw her! She went to get a book or somethin’, ‘cause, nerd!, and then she just hung this by your locker! I swear!”  
“There’s no way Noda’s into me,” Mitsuru protested, feeling quite sure about this. At least, he hoped not. But as far as he could tell, there had never been any signs pointing to this. Ever. Also, if Noda _did_ like him, that would mean… 

“It’s curious,” Sho said vaguely, taking a deep drag of his cigarette, despite the fact that they were indoors and this was obviously not allowed. But teachers hardly ever paid attention to these common areas of the school anyways.  
Mitsuru expected Sho to say something more about it, but he didn’t. Instead, Kazuo was the one to speak up.  
“Some say opposites attract,” he said simply. “Noda might like the qualities she sees in you that she lacks in herself.”  
“Like what?! Fightin’? Smokin’? Stealin?!” Ryuhei laughed, not sure if this sounded too realistic.   
“I saw what I saw! She’s into him! Boss is right, she’s probably into the danger and all that,” Hiroshi kept insisting, as he reached his hand over in an attempt to steal some chocolate. Absent-mindedly, Mitsuru smacked it away. 

“Guess… I gotta say somethin’ to her then, right? Thank her but… Tell her I ain’t into her?” Mitsuru said thoughtfully. He had never rejected a girl before, and even if he wasn’t interested in her, he didn’t want to hurt her.  
“We gotta see this,” Ryuhei said eagerly, looking more than ready for the potential drama. Mitsuru scoffed.  
“No way, ya fuckers stay away. We don’t need an audience,” he mumbled grumpily, pushing the box slowly around on the table. Maybe he should be more happy about receiving something today, but this only served to make his situation more… complicated. Because Noda wasn’t the girl in that friend group he had hoped to receive anything from. 

His eyes met Sho’s, and the other boy shrugged as he stubbed his cigarette, saving half of it for a later break.  
“Oh, honey. I’m sure he’ll understand,” he said, still sounding a little thoughtful, but now with a small smile. “Just let her down gently.”  
“Don’t call me that,” Mitsuru said gruffly, scrunching his nose. “But yeah. Gently. I can do that.”

* * *

Satomi had confirmed to Izumi that the gift had been handed over, and Izumi saw this for herself when the next class started. Mitsuru, rather discreetly, slid the chocolate box into his backpack before it became too obvious he had them. Izumi couldn’t help but smile ever so slightly as her cheeks heated up. He would know it was from her. Right?  
As Mitsuru sat down, their eyes met for a second, but he quickly looked away. 

Izumi frowned. That was odd. Usually, they would at least smile to each other, maybe even give a small nod. Could that mean…  
 _He didn’t like it!_  
The only thing she could think of to explain the cool look she had just gotten, was that Mitsuru had in fact realized the chocolate was from her, but he wished she hadn’t given him it. Why! Even if he didn’t like her, it was still free chocolate. Who could be mad about chocolate? 

Her mind continued to wander throughout the class. By the end of it, she was convinced of a list of things. First of all, Mitsuru Numai hated her. Second of all, she would have to move away, or at least change schools. Third of all, she was probably ugly. Which is why he hated her. Pouting, Izumi gathered her things, ready to move on to their next class, when Satomi took a hold of her shoulder.   
“Pst,” she said in a hushed voice, squinting slightly. “He wants to talk to me now.”  
“What?” Izumi asked, confused. “Who?”  
Satomi sighed deeply, as if this was obvious. “Numai. He asked for me to stay behind outside the classroom so we could _talk_. I guess someone saw me leave him the chocolate, after all.”

Izumi’s eyes widened, as she nodded.  
“Do you think that’s it…?” she asked, her heart beating faster. She hadn’t meant for Satomi to get involved in some kind of weird, fake love drama, and now she was feeling quite bad about it all. “Maybe he just has… a math question or –“  
“- Sure, that’s probably it,” Satomi replied sarcastically. “He hasn’t spoken to me for three years, but now he’s concerned about maths.”  
Even though Satomi’s sarcastic tone wasn’t malicious, but rather just the manner in which she spoke sometimes, it still made Izumi feel even worse.  
“I’m sorry, Satomi,” she whispered. “I really didn’t think you’d be seen!”  
“Oh, well,” Satomi said, not seeming too bothered by it all. “Do you want me to clear this up and tell him it’s actually from you? Or do you want to keep it unnecessarily vague and complicated?”  
“Oh, the latter,” Izumi responded quickly, her eyes moving to the back of the room, where she noticed Mitsuru was watching them with an expression difficult to read. Oh, she was holding him back too, since he was waiting for Satomi. “I’ll leave you to it… Uhm, update me later, please.”

Izumi could have gone to re-join her friends, who had probably headed to their usual table in the cafeteria. Still, she opted to wait around the corner down the hall, not all that graciously taking a seat on the floor as she leaned against the wall. She wasn’t close enough to hear anything being said, but she still wanted to be nearby for Satomi to update her as soon as possible, without them having to make an excuse to leave the rest of their friends behind to talk. That would be too suspicious.

It felt like it took ages, but in reality, it was probably around three minutes or so before Izumi could hear footsteps drawing near, about to make the turn to join her around the corner. She was about to get up on her feet to jump on Satomi with questions, but she remained still on the floor, as she realized it wasn’t Satomi who was approaching. It was Mitsuru. 

He seemed to stop in his tracks for a second too, before resuming his pace. Placing his hands in his pockets, he nodded to her.  
“Hey,” he greeted, looking almost amused. “Did ya fall?”  
“Fall?” Izumi asked, confused for a moment.  
“You’re on the floor,” Mitsuru pointed out, a small smile on his lips. Izumi blushed, as she hurried to get up, her hands straightening out her skirt which had gotten a little wrinkly.  
“Uhm, I was waiting for Satomi,” she told him awkwardly, not really looking at him.

“Noda, huh…” Mitsuru agreed, nodding. “She just rejected me, y’know.”  
Despite that statement in itself usually being something upsetting, Mitsuru almost had a little laugh as he said it. Izumi wasn’t sure if she should pretend to be surprised or not. Did she act as if she didn’t know anything about this situation? What would be the least embarrassing way to approach this?  
Finally, she ended up saying a simple “ _Oh_.”  
“Didn’t think I’d be rejected by a chick I’m not even into t’day,” Mitsuru continued, removing one of the hands from his pockets to scratch the back of his neck. “After thankin’ her for a gift she didn’t even give me.”

Izumi nodded dumbly, still trying to think of a way to get out of this while still seeming somewhat cool. Although, she was pretty sure it was too late.  
“Guess I should try to find out who really gave it to me, and thank her, huh?” Mitsuru said, now with an almost shy smile.   
Izumi considered going the total fake route, something ala _Oh! You got a White Day gift? How fun!_ , but really, what was the point? Instead, she blushed, daring to meet his eyes.  
“I suppose you should,” she agreed, smiling weakly. “Uhm, especially if you liked it. Did you like it?”  
“Yeah,” Mitsuru confirmed quickly, nodding several times. “Yeah. Lots. Even more when I know it ain’t from Noda. I mean, no offence to Noda, sure she’s cool too, but y’know…”  
“Right,” Izumi agreed just as quick, finding herself nodding too. “I know!”   
She wasn’t sure exactly what she was claiming to know, but it did make her heart beat up.

“So… Gotta find a way to thank whoever it is. When I figure it out,” Mitsuru said again, putting his hand back in his pocket.  
Izumi’s smile softened. She kind of wanted to tell him that That’s what White Day is for, but she didn’t want to be too forceful or presumptuous.   
“Guess that’s what White Day’s for,” Mitsuru said, surprising Izumi by reading her mind. He nodded to her again as he resumed to walking down the hall. “See ya, Kanai.”  
Stunned, Izumi couldn’t help but smile from ear to ear.   
“I think any girl would appreciate that!” she confirmed, despite now speaking to his back. “I… will see you around!”

Mitsuru didn’t turn around, or stop walking, but she felt like she could tell he was smiling too. Somehow, despite a less than perfect execution, she had ended up with the exact result she had hoped for. With White Day in a month, Izumi thought it could hardly come soon enough. 


End file.
